Snow plow



C. B. JENSEN Jan. 10, 1939.

S NOW PLOW Filed April 29, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor: Christian BU'ensen.

C. B. JENSEN SNOW PLOW Filed April 29, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet Z I nven'tor:

that-neg Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFIQE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a snow plow, and has for its general object to provide a machine for removing or handling snow wherein will be incorporated various improved features and characteristics of construction novel both as individual entities of the machine and in combination with each other.

Another object is to provide in a machine of the present character, a snow removing or handling entity of novel and improved construction.

Another object is to provide an assembly of snow plow, including a snow removing or handling entity, with a propulsion vehicle for the snow plow, which assembly will incorporate novel and improved mechanism for driving a rotatable element of said snow removing or handling entity.

And yet another object is to provide novel and improved mechanism for adjustably mounting a snow plow upon an automotive or other vehicle adapted to propel the plow.

With the above objects in view, as well as others which will appear as the specification proceeds, the invention comprises the construction, arrangement and combination of parts as now to be fully described and as hereinafter to be specifically claimed, it being understood that the disclosure herein is merely illustrative and intended in no way in a limiting sense, changes in details of construction and arrangement of parts being permissible so long as within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims which follow.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view, taken as on line I-I in Fig. 4, of a snow plow made according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view, on a reduced scale, of the snow plow of Fig. 1;

Fig 3 is a top plan view, on the scale of Fig, 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, taken as on line 4-4 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, taken as on line 5-5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevational View detailing the disc plate of the rotatable element of either of the snow removing or handling entities of the machine disclosed; and

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view, taken on line 7--'l in Fig. 1.

With respect to the drawings and the numerals of reference thereon, l represents a snow plow, and- N indicates a propulsion vehicle for the plow. As disclosed, the propulsion vehicle is a tractor, but could be any other type of propelled vehicle, automotive or otherwise.

The snow plow is adapted to be pushed by the propulsion vehicle, and the rotatable element of each snow removing or handling entity of said snow plow is adapted to be driven through the instrumentality of mechanism associated with the propulsion vehicle.

A frame for the plow includes a vertical rear wall [2 extending transversely of the plow and propulsion vehicle, and vertical outermost side walls l3, l3, intermediate walls I4, l4 and innermost walls l5, all extending longitudinally of said plow and propulsion vehicle. All of the walls l3, l3 and l4, l4 and I5, I5 are in suitably spaced apart relation, and are integrally connected to the rear wall 12 in any convenient manner, as by welding or riveting As disclosed, each adjacent set of walls It and i5 cooperates with a rotatable element iii to provide, together with additional elements to be described, a snow removing or handling entity for the plow, said plow in the present embodiment including two snow removing or handling entities. It is to be noted, however, that the plow can include a greater or less number of snow removing or handling entities than two.

Each rotatable element [6 is situated between adjacent walls l4 and I5, and said rotatable elements are fixed, in a manner to be set forth, upon a transverse shaft I! which extends through all of the vertical, longitudinal walls l4, l5, l5

and I4 and is rotatably mounted in bearings i8 fixed to the outer surfaces of the walls 14, I4.

Mechanism for supporting the snow plow upon the propulsion Vehicle may include a desirably cast member l9 bolted to the propulsion vehicle, as at 26, about the crank shaft 2! of the vehicle engine (not shown). As described, the cast memher [9 includes spaced apart, forwardly extending arms 22 at either side of the crank shaft 2| providing opposed, split bearings 23' removably and rotatably housing a transverse shaft 24. A pair of radius rods 25, one adjacent each split bearing 23, have their rearward end portions detachably carried by the shaft 24. One of the radius rods 25 is mounted directly upon said shaft 24, and the other radius rod is mounted upon the hub 26 of a safety drive member 21 splined to the shaft 24, as at 28. The radius rods 25 extend parallelly forwardly from the shaft 24, and havetheir forward end portions rotatably mounted upon the shaft ll. Therear rods.

Additional spaced apart, split bearings for the shaft 24, between and spaced from the split bearings 23, are denoted 29. Said bearings- 29 are provided by a reinforcing frame 30, disposed interiorly of and integral with the cast member l9, and a cover 3| suitably and detachably mounted upon said frame 35. The structure providing the split bearings 29 is preferably at equal distance from the arms 22 and the split bearings 23 thereof.

The shaft 24 is mounted directly in one of the split bearings 29, and a sprocket 32 splined to said shaft 24, as at 33, is situated between the adjacent split bearing 29 and the adjacent radius rod 25 in such manner that said sprocket 32 and said mentioned radius rod are confined against longitudinal movement upon the shaft. Said shaft 24 is not mounted directly in the other split bearing 29. Instead, a bevel gear 34 at the inner side of this mentioned split bearing includes a hub 35 freely rotatable upon said shaft 24, and the shaft is mounted in this hub. At the outer side of the split bearing 29 adjacent the safety drive member 21 and integral with the hub 35, is a drive member 36 bolted to and against said safety drive member 21, as at 31. The safety drive member and the adjacent split bearing 23 confine the adjacent radius rod 25 against longitudinal movement on the shaft 24.

The frame 35 integrally supports a horizontal bearing 38, in alinement with the crank shaft 2 A driven shaft 39 carried by said bearing 38 is flexibly coupled, as at 40, to said crank shaft. A

bevel gear 4| is splined to the forward end portion 7 of the driven shaft 39, as at 42, and meshes with the bevel gear 34. While as illustrated and described, the propelling means for the rotatable elements E6 of the machine is the crank shaft of a propulsion vehicle, it will be evident that said rotatable elements could be driven by any actuated part of a propulsion vehicle, or by an auxiliary motor or engine upon the vehicle.

The radius rods 25 obviously locate the shaft I! at fixed distance from the shaft 24. I A sprocket 43 is fixed upon said shaft IT, as at 44, in longitudinal alinement with the sprocket 32, and a sprocket chain 45 rides said sprockets 32 and 43.

As illustrated, the mold board of the plow is of general W-shap'e in cross section, including vertical, inwardly slanting snow guiding walls 46 at the sides of the front of the plow, and vertical, outwardly slanting snow guiding walls 41 at the center of the front of said plow. The walls 41 slant away from a vertical knife edge 48 at location at the front of the plow where said walls 4? are connected together, and each wall 46 slants away from a vertical knife edge '49 at the front of the plowwhere said walls 45 are connected to the walls I3. The rearward edge of each wall 46 is connected to the forward edge of a wall M, and the rearward edge of each wall M is connected to the forward edge of a wall E5. Each wall 46, 46, '4'! and 41 includes a horizontal knife edge 50 adapted to rest upon the ground. The upper portions of adjacent walls 46, 4'! and 46, ll are in each instance interconnected by a downwardly and rearwardly disposed wall 5| meeting the top forward edges of vertical walls l4 and I5 which areadjacent each other; Adjacent walls 46, ll and 4B, 4'! in each instance provide surfaces for guiding snow into an open front, rectilinear passageway or slot 52 defined by a curvilinear 1 Wall 51 extending downwardly and forwardly from the rear wall I2 and walls l4 and 5 which are adjacent each other, and each downwardly and rearwardly disposed wall 5| and its rear edge 53 cooperate, in the instance of each rectilinear passageway or slot 52, with said rear wall l2 and adjacent walls l4 and E5 to provide a closed, rectilinear passageway or slot 5 3. Numeral 55 indicates a rectilinear snow deflector arranged over each closed passageway or slot 5:3 and removably attached to the plow as at 56. Each snow deflector 55 is adapted to completely cover a passageway or slot 54 defined by walls I2, l4, l5 and 5|. As shown, the snow deflectors are positioned to direct the removed snow toward opposite sides of the snow plow. Each could, however, be adjustable to cause the snow to be delivered in any preferred direction.

Push beams 58 for the snow plow have their rearward ends pivotally connected to the propulsion vehicle, as at 59, and their forward ends pivotally connected, as at 65, to arms 5| integral with the opposite ends of an angle plate 62 connected to the lower portion of the rear wall I2 and extending transversely of the plow. The push beams 58 can be pivotally attached to the arms 5| at any one of several different locations along the lengths of said arms to thus tilt the plow forwardly or rearwardly about the shaft '24 as an axis. By provision of the pivotal connections at 65, the plow and propulsion vehicle can have upward and downward movement relative to each other as the assembly is advanced over the ground, as will be understood.

Mechanism for lifting the snow plow off of the ground, when this is desirable, as when traveling to or from a job, can include a pair of cylinders 53, one at each side of the propulsion vehicle, each having its upper end pivotally connected, as at 52, to a bracket 65 upon said vehicle, there being a bracket 35 at each side of the vehicle. A piston 56 in each cylinder is supported by a rod 67 which is pivotally connected, as at 68, to a forward portion of a push beam 58. A hose 69 for conveying fluid to each cylinder to operate the pistons leads from a suitable pump (not shown). The arrangement is such that the fluid forces the pistons inwardly of the cylinders to lift the push beams and the plow, and said push beams and plow return to position where the plow rests upon the ground when the fluid pressure is released from the cylinders. As the push beams swing upwardly, the snow plow is also swung upwardly about the shaft 24 as an axis. This upward swinging of the plow will offer no interference to the chain drive for the rotatable elements, because the distance between the shafts ll and 22 does not vary.

Each rotatable element l5 includes a disc plate in having a central opening receiving the shaft ll. Smaller plates H are at the opposite surfaces of each disc plate 20 and about said shaft H, and bolts l2 pass through an annular flange 13 integral with the shaft, one flange for each disc plate, and'through the smaller plates ii to fasten the disc plates upon said shaft H.

Each disc plate Ill is arranged approximately concentrically of a corresponding curved wall 5'! and in comparatively close proximity to said curved wall 51. The major portion of the diameter or width of each disc plate iii is within the snow passageway or slot 52, and the upper portion of the diameter or width of each disc plate terminates at about the elevation of the corresponding closed passageway or slot 52, all about ing disc plate ill at the elevation of the knife edges 56. The knife edges 14 extend from side to side of the snow passageways or slots 52.

Each disc plate l6 carries a series of working blades or shovels T5 at the periphery of the disc plate. There are spaced apart working blades or shovels i5 adjacent each of the opposite surfaces of each disc plate, and said working blades or shovels at the different sides of a disc plate, respectively, are desirably disposed in staggered relation, as disclosed.

Each working blade or shovel '55 extends more or less radially of the corresponding disc plate, with its width arranged transversely of the snow plow. Also, each working blade or shovel is curved in the direction of its width and is straight in the direction of its length. In general outline the working blades or shovels l5 are rectilinear, and the outer or working edges or ends of said blades or shovels are knife edges, as denoted at it. Either end of the blade or shovel may be disposed outwardly, so all of the ends of the blades or shovels are of knife edge shape. And desirably the side edges of the blades or shovels are also knife edged to better cut through snow.

Each working blade or shovel 75 is not as disclosed directly supported by a disc plate '11 but is remo-vably carried, as by bolts ll, upon an angle piece l8, one for each blade, itself secured to the disc plate, as by bolts 79.

The disc plates are rotated so that their forward portions move downwardly and their lower portions move rearwardly, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4. Each working blade or shovel l5 has its outer knife edge arranged to project a greater or less distance beyond the periphery of the corresponding disc plate, while the length of each blade or shovel is such that the inner end thereof terminates a considerable distance inwardly of said periphery. The width of each working blade or shovel is just less than the distance between the corresponding disc plate and the adjacent wall it or is, it being understood that the disc plate in each snow passageway or slot is at equal distance from the side walls thereof. The arrangement is such that the concave surfaces of the blades or shovels are the working surfaces thereof. The outer ends or edges of the working blades or shovels rotate in close proximity to the curved walls 51.

The manner in which the rotatable elements, each including a disc plate 10 with working blades or shovels iii, operate will be clear. The surfaces lfi and 4'5 of the mold board direct the snow into the passageways or slots 52, and each working blade or shovel l5 cooperates with the corresponding disc plate and adjacent side wall, it or id as the case may be, to carry individual loads or shovels-full of snow up through the corresponding snow deflector 55. The disc plates rotate at high rate of speed, and the snow leaves the deflectors in the form of individual and separate charges of snow each equal in amount to a shovel-full of snow forced out of the machine under considerable momentum by the centrifugal force exerted through the working blades or shovels l5. Said blades or shovels keep wiping through the snow passageway or slot, and the cooperating arrangement between working blades or shovels, disc plate and vertical and parallel side walls of the passageway or slot is such that snow once upon a blade or shovel will be quickly carried out of the machine. There is no opportunity for any snow to fall backwardly of the working blades or shovels when once upon a blade or shovel.

Provision is included for adjustably mounting the angle pieces 18 upon the disc plates, so that the blades or shovels can be set at angle more sharp or more acute. The radial arrangement as disclosed in the drawings is satisfactory for relatively loose snow. When the snow is of nature to require more effort for removal, the angle pieces with blades or shovels will be tilted, more or less as the case may be, to thus be set at angle less than a right angle to the ground when adjacent the ground. That is, it may be desirable in one instance to set the blades or shovels so that they simply wipe against the snow to carry it into the machine, as said blades or shovels are disclosed, while in other instances it may be necessary to present the blades or shovels in cutting relation to the snow. For this purpose, the angle pieces may be adjustably fastened to the disc plates by the employment of selective holes 80 in said disc plates, as more clearly shown in Fig. 6. In an instance where ice must be removed, it may be desirable to set some of the working blades or shovels '15 at really sharp, cutting angle to the snow or ice, as by use of openings such as 8| through the disc plates. In such an event, a good arrangement is to set alternate blades or shovels at a sharp angle and arrange a blade or shovel about at an angle as in the drawings between alternate cutting blades or shovels, but to set the right-angle or radial blades inwardly slightly so that their outer edges will not extend beyond the peripheries of the disc plates. Then in practice, the cutting blades or shovels will remove the snow from the ground, and the blades or shovels between the cutting blades or shovels will carry the snow to the deflectors and out of the machine. When a working blade or shovel is adjusted to some desired angle, byadjustment of its angle piece, the working edge of the blade or shovel may not in some instance be at desired relation to the periphery of the corresponding disc. To overcome this difdculty, the blades or shovels may be adjustably attached to the. angle pieces by employment of several selective bolt holes 82, as in Fig. 1.

The mold board of the snow plow could of course be V-shape, in which case but a single snow removing or handling entity would be employed, or said mold board could be of some other convenient configuration. However, a mold board of W-shape has several distinct advantages. The snow friction area is less when employing a W-shape mold board than when employing a V-shape, and, the snow engaging surfaces of the mold board being of smaller magnitude, the requirement for reinforcement of the mold board is reduced.

In the embodiment as disclosed, the rotatable elements it are driven whenever the crank shaft Ed is in operation, the drive being from the bevel gear 34 to the shaft 24 through the bolts 3? and straight in the direction of their lengths, they have great strength. The cutting and removal of ice and snow from the ground causes considerable stress or pressure to be exerted against the blades or shovels in the direction of their lengths. A broken blade or shovel can obviously be quickly and easily replaced, each blade or shovel being detachably bolted to its disc plate independently of all others of the blades or shovels.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the character described, a box like structure including an open front wall, and parallel side walls and a rear wall defining a passageway leading from said open front wall, a shaft extending transversely of said passageway, a disc plate mounted at its center portion upon said shaft and disposed in said passageway in spaced relation to its side walls, and working blades removably secured to the opposite surfaces of said disc plate adjacent its periphery, each working blade approximately spanning the distance between said disc plate and the adjacent side wall of said passageway.

2. The combination as specified in claim 1, and means for adjusting the working blades relatively to the disc plate.

3. In a machine of the character described, a disc plate adapted for attachment to a driven shaft, and working shovels attached to the opposite surfaces of said disc plate adjacent the periphery thereof, each of said working shovels lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to said disc plate, the lengths of the shovels being disposed radially, more or less, of the disc plate, and said shovels being straight in the direction of their lengths and curvilinear in the direction of their widths.

4. In a snow plow, the combination of a rearwardly extending mold board, a disc disposed adjacent a rearward portion of said mold board and in a plane extending longitudinally of the plow, blades secured to both sides of said disc in circumferentially spaced apart relation to each other, and means for securing said blades to said disc at various angles to the radius of said disc.

5. In a machine of the character described,

a box like structure including an open front wall, parallel side walls and a rear wall defining a passageway leading from said open front wall, a shaft extending transversely of said passageway, a disc plate mounted upon said shaft and disposed in said passageway between said open front wall and said rear wall in spaced relation to a side wall thereof, and working blades secured to a surface of said disc plate adjacent its periphery, each working blade approximately spanning the distance between said disc plate and the adjacent wall of said passageway.

6. In a machine of the character described, a shaft to be driven, a disc plate carried by said shaft, and working shovels removably attached to opposite surfaces of said disc plate, each of said working shovels lying in a plane substantially at right-angles to said disc plat-e, the lengths of the shovels being disposed radially, more or less, of the disc plate, and said shovels being curvilinear in the direction of their widths.

7. In a machine of the character described, a box like structure including an open front wall, spaced apart, upstanding side walls and a rear wall defining a passageway leading from said open front wall, a shaft extending transversely of said passageway, a disc plate mounted upon said shaft and disposed in said passageway between said open front wall and said rear wall, and spaced apart working blades secured at a surface of said disc plate adjacent its periphery, each working blade lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to said disc plate.

8. In a machine of the character described, a box like structure including an open front wall, spaced apart, upstanding side walls and a rear wall defining a passageway leading from said open front wall, a shaft extending transversely of said passageway, a disc plate mounted upon said shaft and disposed in said passageway, and working blades secured at a surface of said disc plate adjacent its periphery and disposed substantially perpendicularly to the disc plate, each working blade approximately spanning the distance between said disc plate and the adjacent side wall.

CHRISTIAN B. JENSEN. 

